Air-brake.



No. 811,525. PATBNTED JAN. 30, 1906. W. L. STIARWALT & W. H. COOL.

AIR BRAKE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 22, 1905.

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WILLIAM L. STIARWALT AND WILLIAM H. COOL, OF BELLEFONTAINE, OHIO.

AIR-BRAKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 30, 1906.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM L. STIAR- WALT and WILLIAM H. CooL, citizens of the United States, residing at Bellefontaine, in the county of Logan and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Air-Brakes, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to certain improvements in air-brakes for cars; and it consists in providing and locating a port in the under half of a rotary valve, so that notice is given automatically of any lapping of the valve.

In the drawings, Figure l is a top perspective view of the bottom half of an ordinary Westinghouse rotary valve used in the airbrake system and showing our port. Fig. 2 is a bottom view of same half of the valve.

In the drawings, A is the lower part of the ordinary valve used to regulate the air in the train-line; F, a large port through which the train-line is speedily filled from the air-reservoir; B, a small inlet-port connecting air-reservoir with train-line to offset leakage in the line; C, the ort that gives warning when the valve is on full releasei. 6., when the trainline is in direct connection with the reservoir through the large port F. After the trainline is filled connection is shut ofi from the reservoir except through the small port B, which is left in constant communication with the air-line to keep the line full of air and prevent its being emptiedby leakage.

D is our port, located in such relation to the other ports, valve, and air-line that when port B is closed from any cause or should the valve become lapped our port D will give notice by a whistling sound; E, a shaft or axis on which lower part of valve is mounted and by means of which it is rotated.

In all air-brake systems there is a constant leakage of air from the air-line beneath and between the cars to such an extent that port B, connecting the line with the reservoir, has to be kept open and a constant pressure kept in the line. The Working of this valve is so I delicate that an involuntary touch of the hand or arm by the engineer may move it enough to lap the valve, and even the j olting of a locomotive running rapidly over a rough frog or switch may move tne valve enough to cause it to lap; and it often happens that the engineer thinks he has thrown the lever back when he has only partially done so, allowing it to lap and shut off connection between the reservoir and air-line unknown to the engineer, who when he wants to use the air finds it gone, and his train rushes on, frequently to disastrous accident before the engineer can control it. It is of almost daily report that the air would not work when an accident occurs, and an air of mystery is thrown around the idiosyncrasies of the air-brake. Most engineers know that the cause of the accident was from the lapping of the valve and the escapement of air from the train-line but to account for it in this manner is to confess negligence in keeping track of the valve, which would mean dismissal for the engineer. So the accident is accounted for by the dictum that the air would not work. With our improvement our port D is so located in reference to the valve and port B and the air-line that it remains passive or inoperative as long as the valve is in proper position and the airline filled with air; but should the valve become lapped and the connection shut ofl between the air-reservoir and the air-line the change in the position of the valve opens port D and sounds a warning.

What we claim is- In an air-brake valve, the port D, so situate with relation to the port that furnishes constant supply to the train-line, and to the valve, that it sounds warning whenever the valve laps the supply-port, as and for the purpose set forth.

WILLIAM L. STIARWALT. WILLIAM H. COOL. Witnesses:

WILLIAM L. STIARWALT, J12, O. D. CAMPBELL. 

